Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin (5) shoots over Dayton guard Kyle Davis (3) during the first half in a regional final game at the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 29, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin (5) shoots over Dayton guard Kyle...

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MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 29: Scottie Wilbekin #5 of the Florida Gators celebrates on the court after defeating the Dayton Flyers 62-52 in the south regional final of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the FedExForum on March 29, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Connecticut's Shabazz Napier responds to a question following an NCAA college basketball team workout Tuesday, April 1, 2014, in Storrs, Conn. UConn will be playing Florida in the Final Four on Saturday in Dallas. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Photo: Steven Senne, Associated Press

Connecticut's Shabazz Napier responds to a question following an...

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Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie, left, and Florida head coach Billy Donovan participate in a joint news conference for their NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Thursday, April 3, 2014, in Dallas. Connecticut plays Florida on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

College coaches have wrestled with that question all season, but now the problem belongs to Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators, who play the Huskies Saturday night (6:09, TBS) in the NCAA tournament's semifinal round.

Napier already trumped them once this season, scoring 26 points -- including the game-winning basket at the buzzer -- at Gampel Pavilion to hand the Gators one of their only two losses. Fellow Final Four participant Wisconsin, also on its home floor, was the other team to beat the Gators (36-2).

"Shabazz to me is as good as any point guard in this country," Donovan said. "I've got a lot of respect for his leadership. I have a lot of respect for his competitiveness -- the confidence he gives the rest of the guys, his willingness to take big shots and make big shots, his willingness to be unselfish and to play the right way.

"He is a heck of a player and a heck of a talent, as good as anybody in the country."

"(Napier) can beat you with drives," Donovan said. "He can beat you with shots. He can beat you behind the line, and he can also beat you passing the ball."

In the meeting at Gampel, Napier was quite the show closer, converting a four-point play with 33.5 seconds left and then dropping the buzzer beater from 15 feet.

Senior guard Scottie Wilbekin was one of the Gators in charge of stopping Napier, but departed in the final minutes with an ankle injury. He knows the daunting challenge ahead trying to contain a player averaging 23.3 points in the tournament.

"I think that his ability to pull up from anywhere and the quickness that he pulls up and with the efficiency that he makes difficult shots -- that's what makes him hard to guard," Wilbekin said.

Wilbekin will likely be guarding Napier in the rematch, but he's not focused on 1-on-1 battles, which is something the UConn guard would also tell you. Napier was not made available during Thursday's player portion on the media session, with UConn senior Niels Giffey serving as the representative.

"I always like guarding guys that are a challenge to guard," said Wilbekin, who was named the South Region Most Outstanding Player and was also the SEC Player of the Year. "But as far as getting another crack at playing them, it's not really about that at all."

Napier might be the national name associated with the Huskies, but Donovan has other worries, including a player he once recruited, DeAndre Daniels.

Daniels (17 ppg in NCAAs) has thrived in the tournament inside and out, where he has hit 42.1 percent (8-for-19) of his 3-point shots, and the Florida coach says he's become "extremely versatile." Also, junior Ryan Boatright is averaging 13.8 points in four NCAA games, and Giffey has made 49.1 percent of his 3-pointers this season.

"I think the way UConn runs their offense and the situations Kevin (Ollie) puts them in, it makes it even that much more difficult dealing with (Napier)," Donovan said. "You can run and just go trap him, but he's going to find one of those guys and you're going to leave someone open for a 3.

"You can try to cover the 3 and someone's going to be rolling to the basket."

Defense has been a specialty of the Gators, who led the SEC and ranked third overall in the country in fewest points allowed (57.6 per game). Florida starts four seniors along with sophomore Michael Frazier II and has been to four straight Elite Eights, with this being its first Final Four since 2007.

"They are battle-tested," Ollie said. "We are going to have to play hard, we are going to have to play together and we're going to have to have our big-time players step up."